Solar wind composition and charge states

Journal Article · Sat Jul 20 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.51384· OSTI ID:21163472

Steiger, R von ^[1]

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1. Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern (Switzerland)

The abundances and charge states of the heavy ions present in the solar wind are important tracers for conditions and processes in the solar corona and chromosphere. The elemental abundances are known to be fractionated with respect to the photosphere, with the fractionation being organized best by the first ionization time. Since the first ionization occurs in the upper the chromosphere, the solar wind abundances are indicative for the conditions at this site. On the other hand, the solar wind charge states provide information about the coronal temperature, where they are frozen-in at altitudes between 1.5 and 3.5 solar radii. The charge state distributions of different elements can thus be used to infer a coronal temperature profile. The two types of steady solar wind, fast streams from coronal holes and slow, interstream wind, are significantly different in both of these signatures. This implies that they are separated by a boundary extending through the corona and down into the chromosphere, i.e. that the slow wind is not merely emanating from the coronal hole boundary regions.

• OSTI ID: 21163472
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 382; ISSN APCPCS; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS
CHARGE STATES
CHROMOSPHERE
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
FRACTIONATION
HEAVY IONS
ION TEMPERATURE
IONIZATION
PHOTOSPHERE
SOLAR CORONA
SOLAR WIND